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Life Communications - Volume 5, No. 5 April, 1995
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This newsletter is intended to provide articles and news information to
those interested in Pro-Life issues. All submissions should be sent to the
editor, Steve .
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1) New Encyclical Strongly Condemns Abortion, Euthanasia
On March 25, the Vatican released Pope John Paul II's 11th papal
encyclical, _Evangelium Vitae_ (The Gospel of Life). In it the Pope
emphatically reiterated the Church's stand against abortion and euthanasia,
condemning them as crimes no human law can justify. "Nothing and no one can
in any way," declared the pontiff, "permit the killing of an innocent human
being whether a foetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, and old person,
or one suffering from an incurable disease, or a person who is dying."
Fr. Richard John Neuhaus summed up the encyclical this way: "Pope John Paul
II unequivocally condemns abortion and euthanasia, and sharply challenges
those who are part of the `network of complicity' that supports such
`crimes against humanity.' By addressing himself to `all people of good
will' and declaring that he speaks on the basis of the written word of God,
the Pope leaves not a shadow of doubt that the relevant teaching is
unchangeable and binding upon all Catholics."
Critical of what the Pope describes as a "culture of death," the pontiff's
tone was condemnatory of abortionists and liberal society at large for
facilitating and promoting abortion. "To claim the right to abortion,
infanticide and euthanasia, and to recognise that right in law," the
encyclical stated, "means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil
significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others.
This is the death of true freedom."
The Pope further criticized the medical community for engaging in embryo
and fetal research as well as abortive surgeries; in doing so, they
are failing to protect and preserve life. "Even certain sectors of the
medical profession, which by its calling is directed to the defence and
care of human life, are increasingly willing to carry out these acts
against the person. In this way the very nature of the medical profession
is distorted and contradicted, and the dignity of those who practise it is
degraded."
*Responses*
According to a Reuters news release, Planned Parenthood president, Pamela
Maraldo, refused to accept the pontiff's opposition to abortion and fetal
research. "As a woman and practicing Catholic," said Maraldo, "I am
appalled by a document that denies the moral authority of women and
jeopardizes the health of people around the world who benefit from advanced
medical research." As if anticipating such responses, the Pope had already
stated, "The killing of innocent human creatures, even if carried out to
help others, constitutes an absolutely unacceptable act."
The Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians (PLAGAL) responded to the
encyclical with a March 31 release entitled, "Pope Gets It Right," noting
that homosexuals, people with AIDS, and the unborn have one important
characteristic in common: "In the minds of many people we are considered
less than human. And because we are considered less than human, we are not
deemed entitled to the basic human rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness. Pope John Paul II's passages that focus on prenatal testing
of unborn children echo the concerns of PLAGAL and of many in the lesbian
and gay community. We fear that prenatal tests will become an overture for
parents to do away with their gay and lesbian children before they are
born." PLAGAL's release went on to state, "While the Vatican document
clearly does not express any opinion with respect to the genetic origin of
homosexuality, it recognizes that prenatal diagnosis or testing can and
most likely will be used for 'eugenic abortions.'"
Pro-life readers should access the entire text of the Pope's encyclical,
_Evangelium Vitae_, at WWW URL http://listserv.american.edu/
catholic/church/papal/jp.ii/jp2evanv.html> or via anonymous FTP at
.
- Stephanie Herman
[The Vatican's publishing house, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, announced
that _EV_ will be available on computer disk for about $5.60. Ed.]
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2) Across the Pond
*Belfast, Northern Ireland* Seamus Mallon (SDLP) told the Forum for Peace
and Conciliation in February that he was a member of a delegation with
Peter Robinson (DUP) and the Rev. Martin Smyth (UUP), which recently
received assurances from British Prime Minsiter John Major that Britain's
liberal abortion laws would not be extended to the North. While
politicians in the North claim that they are united in opposing any
liberalisation of the abortion laws, the Family Planning Association is
campaigning to have the law in the North brought into line with that of
Britain.
*Moscow, Russia* Leading Russian Embryologists Condemns Abortion
In an official statement from the embryology department of the biological
faculty of Moscow State University condemned abortion in these terms:
> "From the point of view of modern biology (genetics, embryology) human
> beings' life begins from the moment of merging of masculine and
> feminine sexual cells when a new nucleus is established, the one
> containing unique genetic data... During the entire prenatal period a
> new human being can not be considered as a part of mother's body: it
> must not be dealt with as an organ or a part of the body of mother...
> So it is obvious that abortion accomplished at any term of pregnancy
> is a deliberate ending of human life (the life of human being as a
> biological individuum)."
> - Dean of Embryological Department, Biological Faculty,
> Moscow State University
> Proffessor, Dr. of Biology, V.A. Golichenkov
> Proffessor, Dr. of Biology, D.V. Popov
> 03.09.1993
*Northern Territory, Australia* There is strong opposition to a proposed
bill in the Northern Territory that would legalize voluntary euthanasia.
According to the Australian Associated Press, doctors, churches and
pro-life groups have been the major sources of the negative comments.
The proposed bill would give terminally ill patients the right to take
their own lives, and would not prevent other terminally ill Australians
who do not live in the territory from going there to have themselves killed.
*Australia* Femoden ED was announced in January as a new contraceptive pill
that "provides women with contraception straight away when they take it on
the first day of their period," reported the Australian Associated Press.
A second new pill, Trioden ED, "was designed for women experiencing side
effects with their current pill." Both are low-dose birth-control pills.
*Dublin, Republic of Ireland* The Irish College of General Practitioners
met to consider the abortion information legislation and decided that it
was a matter for each individual doctor. The ICGP said that it would not
advise members on the extent to which they should inform their patients on
abortion services overseas.
As expected, President Robinson referred the Abortion Information bill to
the Supreme Court. The court now has fewer than 60 days to decide if it
is constitutional. The Attorney General, or counsel nominated by him, will
argue the case for the bill, while counsel appointed by the Supreme Court
will argue against it. One argument will be that the bill does not protect
the right of the unborn; the other claims that it restricts the rights of
the mother. Attorney General Dermot Gleeson SC will lead a third team,
making the case that the bill is constitutional.
*London, England* A cross-party group of MPs have initiated a move to amend
the Abortion Act to prevent foetuses being subect to pain, and stop the
storage of human embryos. Initiated by Labour TD Joe Benton, and joint
secretary of the Pro-Life group, the motion, signed by 26 MPs including Ann
Winterton, Tory Chairman of the group, and David Alton, Liberal Democrat
MP, called for "changes to the Abortion Act to give protection to the human
foetus, who has less legal protection than laboratory animals and less
charitable consideration from the politically correct than they extend to
livestock." The group argues that scientific research has consistently
found that foetuses show more pain than more developed humans.
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3) American Shorts
*Toronto* Canadian 2nd-Trimester Abortions Declining
A new study conducted by Statistics Canada reveals that the number of
second-trimester abortions has recently dropped by more than half. The
Statistics Canada report was issued on March 27, stating that as a
percentage of all abortions carried out, second-trimester abortions fell
from 21 to 10 percent between 1974 and 1991. Study co-author Wayne
Millar, a senior analyst in the health statistics division, said that
early access to clinic abortions was partially responsible for the
decline. He added, however, that greater public knowledge of the
potential health problems caused by late abortions was also a factor in
the drop. The study found that women most likely to have second-
trimester abortions were single, under 20, and had never given birth
before; however, the complication rate in the second trimester was found
to be 13 times higher than in the first.
*Washington, DC* Republicans Cave
The issue was over the Istook amendment concerning the mandatory funding
of abortions. The amendment passed in the Appropriations Committee would
have clarified last year's Hyde Amendment, stipulating the decision to use
public funds for abortion would be left up to the states unless the
pregnant mother's life is at stake. The Clinton administration has
threatened states with the cutoff of Medicaid funds if they do _not_ use
public funds for abortion in other cases besides life of the mother, such
as rape and incest. When the Istook amendment reached the House floor in
March, the House Rules Committee reacted to pro-abortion Republican
responses and decided to strip the Istook abortion funding language from
the FY 1995 recessions bill.
Beverly LaHaye, president of Concerned Women for America (CWA), charged
that "it seems the Republican leadership is kowtowing to the so-called
'moderates' in the Party who don't care about party loyalty or states'
rights over abortion funding... The Republican leadership evidently does not
have the will or nerve to call for party loyalty and unity with their
pro-abortion Republican members," said LaHaye. "The result? Pro-abortion
members squeal and make demands -- the Republican leadership caves."
*Jacksonville, FL* Griffin Recants
Michael Griffin, who killed an abortion doctor in 1993, said he now
advocates peaceful protest and wants violence at clinics to stop. "I'm
trying to keep some harm from other people," he told the _Florida
Times-Union_. "I used to believe it was justifiable homicide. I don't
anymore," Griffin said. "Mental anguish comes into play as I consider how a
child would react when told a doctor had to die that he may live."
*Washington, DC* Presidential Hopefuls
Political commentator Pat Buchanan and current California Governor Pete
Wilson have announced that they will pursue the nomination for President
for the Republican Party. Buchanan is staunchly pro-life while Wilson
supports abortion in many circumstances. Similarly, pro-abortion Senator
Arlen Specter (R-PA) has announced his candidacy for the Republican
nomination. On the democratic side, staunchly pro-life ex-Pennsylvania
governor Robert Casey (D) has announced that he will challenge Bill Clinton
for the Democratic nomination for the presidency. [Not an exhaustive list.]
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4) What Works - Consider the Other Half of the Formula
One factor in abortion that is given little attention is men. The attempt
to define it as a "women's issue" obscures the fact that lots of men want
it as an option. In fact, most women who get abortions probably do so
because of male pressure: desertion or the threat of it, for example.
Pro-abortion rhetoric implies that women who get abortions are strong
feminists asserting their autonomy and their right to control their bodies.
But in reality the mills are full of abandoned, scared, confused girls who
don't know what else they can do but have their children destroyed. It's
not something they want to talk about. And it certainly isn't something
the men who are responsible want to talk about. The shameful role of men
in abortion is a subject that has been oddly overlooked. You can feel a
certain pity for a woman who is driven to abort; you can't feel sympathy
for the man who drives her to it. Yet there are millions of such men
carrying their own secrets, both light and dark.
On the darker side, one sort of man who might well want to keep abortion
very legal would be the lecherous politician who beds every available woman
but whose ambitions might be capsized by an unwanted child. Naturally he'd
publicly portray his own motive as devotion to "a woman's right to choose."
But when it came to his own life, he might give a pregnant partner a strong
hint as to which choice she ought to make. He might offer a cash
consideration or worse, he might even make threats. Just hypothetical
possibilities, you understand, but an ambitious man can do strange things
when his future is at stake. And you can see where such a man might feel
antagonism toward anti-abortion "extremists."
On the lighter side, there are men who honestly regret their partners
'terminating' their children, and have gone to great lengths to try to
prevent their offspring from being 'terminated.' In recent years, a NJ man
took his case (unsuccessfully) to the Supreme Court to prevent his partner
from aborting his child. The legal oddity is that once born, the mother may
sue for paternal rights, but before the magical moment of birth, the father
has no legal say whatsoever in the disposition of the child -- in fact, the
Supreme Court struck down spousal notification in the _Casey_ decision.
Another fact to consider is that post-aborted fathers are increasingly
being treated for the post-abortion effects of losing their children.
The great fiction is that it's always strictly "a woman's choice," as if it
happened in a vacuum. Despite the legal oddities, *men* are a part of the
situation, and affect, or are affected by, the abortion decision and
procedures.
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5) Announcements
*RNC Seeks Input* Haley Barbour, Chairman of the Republican Party, has been
asking for input on the GOP's pro-life platform. All GOPers and Republican
Party supporters should write him an encourage him to keep the plank in it.
Write him at: Haley Barbour, Chairman, Republican National Committee
310 1st Street SE, Washington, DC 20003
*College Right-To-Life Outreach Organization Established* National Right to
Life has expanded their college outreach program to establish National
Students for Life in order to facilitate the needs of the college right to
life movement. NSL will help provide for student leadership and
representation in the college right to life movement, will actively assist
in helping campus groups with fund-raising, membership and other needs.
Already, several state organizations have joined NSL in this effort.
Additionally, NSL has developed a database of several hundred excited and
enthusiastic college students interested in reaching their schools with the
right to life message. If you would like to be involved in this effort,
please contact Tracy Kelly or Steve Ertelt at
.
*Fetal Tissue Petition* A petition opposing the use of human fetal tissue
derived from intentionally aborted fetuses is being circulated. There
have been 27,768 signatures accumulated to date, and more are needed.
Petitions can be obtained by writing to Monte Harris Liebman, M.D. at
8154 North 38th Street, Brwon Deer, Wisconsin 53209-1547
.
*Day of Prayer in Maryland - 20 May, 1995* Pro-Life Maryland, a coalition
of pro-life and pro-family groups in Maryland, is hosting a day of prayer
on Saturday, May 20, at Central Baptist Church in 7271 Muncaster Mill Road,
Gaithersburg, Maryland. The day will start at 9:00 am and will end around
3:00 pm. Please come! If you have comments or would like directions,
please contact Janet Baker <72733.3433@compuserve.com> or William Samuel
or write: Pro-Life Maryland, Inc., P.O. Box 1628,
Annapolis, MD 21404-1628.
*Gabriel Project Regional Meetings - April-May, 1995* The Gabriel Project
is an ecumenical movement of churches standing together in their commitment
to offer assistance to women and families facing crisis pregnancies.
Churches and pregnancy centers all around Maryland and D.C. have been
signing up to participate. The project is sponsoring a series of regional
meetings to review progress and answer questions. For additional
information on the project, please call 410-719-0434.
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6) New On-Line Resources
*Stop F.T.R. Home Page*
Now available on the World-Wide Web at 486-66 MHz Intel board (est. $200-$250)
> 16 Mbyte RAM (est. $640)
> 1 Gbyte IDE Drive (est. $400)
Currently, there are no plans to charge for pro-life material going on the
site. Some of the material to be supported would include that in the
archives of the Pro-Life News (http://www.pitt.edu/~stfst/
pln/AboutPLN.html).
For more information, or to make donations, please contact Dr. Gordon Gibby
at or write or call LifeAction Advocates,
Inc. at 3232 SW 35th Blvd, Suite 324, Gainesville, FL 32608. Voice-mail
phone (904) 378-2211, selection #6. LifeAction Advocates is a 501(c)(4)
IRS-registered non-profit group incorporated in the state of Florida.
Donations are _not_ tax-deductible.
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7) Reader Responses:
Study on Medical Students? [v5n3]
A Christian teacher named Bill Gothard used the illustration several years
ago. You can send the question to: Institute in Basic Life Principles, Box
One, Oak Brook, Illinois, 60522-3001 (the story is an excerpt from one of
their previous alumni bulletins). I am sure they will be happy to send the
resource he needs.
- Scott Moore in Moulton, Alabama
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Abortion Information Bill Passes [v5n4]
"Information about abortion" is an interesting phrase when used in this
way. IF abortion is murder, then very interesting questions arise that are
not easy to handle. For the law to suggest explicitly that doctors can
give information to people they know are hoping to murder about the ways
and means does seem quite unacceptable. On the other hand, it is not
reasonable to hole illegal telling people how they might murder others -
because it is not possible to distinguish such informings from mere
warnings. For example, if I say "Killweed is deadly poisonous" I am telling
people how to polish off their aunts, should they so wish. It is important
to consider these matters, if only because influential writers like Ronald
Dworkin will say that whenever people think that it ought to be legal for
doctors to "give information about abortion" this only goes to show that
these people cannot REALLY think that abortion is murder. (The writer of
this note does not himself believe that all abortion IS murder, but it is
pretty clear that a lot of it is.)
The reports from Ireland shows that the link between being "conservative"
and being opposed to abortion is an uncertain one. It is important to keep
before our minds that opposition to the killing of the innocent is not a
right wing or a left wing matter: it is a matter for the party of mankind.
- Christopher Coope
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Quote of the Month:
"Nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an
innocent human being whether a foetus or an embryo, an infant or
an adult, and old person, or one suffering from an incurable
disease, or a person who is dying. Furthermore, no one is
permitted to ask for this act of killing, either for himself or
herself or for another person entrusted to his or her care, nor
can he or she consent to it, either explicitly or implicitly.
Nor can any authority legitimately recommend or permit such an
action."
-- Pope John Paul II in his 1995 encyclical,
_Evangelium Vitae_ (The Gospel of Life)
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| Credits: |
| 1 - Sources include the April 3, 1995 _Wall Street Journal_, 30 Mar 1995|
| Reuter's article, 31 March PLAGAL News Release (PLAGAL, PO Box 33292|
| Washington, D.C. 20033 202-223-6697 or . |
| 2 - Belfast news courtesy of 27 Febraury and 27 March issues of _The |
| Irish Emigrant_ (Nos. 421 and 425). Dublin news from the 20 March |
| issue (No. 424). For infomation, contact: |
| Russian news care of Orthodox Medical Educational Center "Zhizn'", |
| To obtain a copy write "Zhizn'", ul. Krasnoarmejskaja, 2/2 Khram |
| Blagoveschenija Moscow 125161, or via email: |
| Australian info from the 24 Feb. 1995 edition (v5#4) of ALL's |
| _Communique_. To subscribe, write: American Life League, Stafford VA|
| 22555 or call 703-659-4171. London news from 8 March, 1995 edition |
| of _The Independent_, courtesy of Chrisopher Coope. |
| 3 - Canadian news from the Toronto _Globe and Mail_, Mar.28/95, courtesy|
| of Julian Smith. Istook information from a 15 March C-News article. |
| For more information, contact Caia Mockaitis of Concerned Women for |
| America, 202-488-7000 x3345. Courtesy of the proLife Infonet |
| . Griffin news from 3 March AP Article|
| 4 - Paritally excerpted from the "Washington Watch" feature in 23 Feb. |
| edition of _The Wanderer_, contributed by Steve Ertelt. |
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Anyone desiring information on specific prolife groups, literature, or help
with problems is encouraged to contact the editor plnews-mod@
netcentral.net>. For those on the web, there is a preliminary WWW page at
.
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file: /pub/resources/text/ProLife.News: pln-0505.txt
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